Treatment for locally advanced breast cancer will usually involve a combination of treatments (chemotherapy, surgery and/or radiotherapy). Every patient is different and the treatments recommended, and the order in which they are used, may vary according to individual circumstances. Talk to your doctors to find out what options are available to you. It is important that you ask as many questions as you need to about the treatments recommended for you.
Treatment will often start with chemotherapy, which involves using drugs to kill cancer cells. The aim of giving chemotherapy first is to make the breast cancer smaller, and to destroy any cancer cells that may be elsewhere in the body, but cannot be detected using routine tests. The drugs are usually administered through a drip in the arm, though some are taken in tablet form. Chemotherapy is usually given in cycles. More information about chemotherapy is available.
Surgery may be recommended for some but not all patients with locally advanced breast cancer. Most people who do have surgery will have the breast removed completely (a mastectomy). Women who have a mastectomy may be able to have a breast reconstruction – typically once treatment has been completed. Talk to your breast surgeon to find out what options are available for you. More information about mastectomy can be found on this site.
Radiotherapy may be used before or after surgery to treat locally advanced breast cancer. Radiotherapy uses X-rays (controlled doses of radiation) to destroy cancer cells in the breast, armpit, neck or surrounding areas. Radiotherapy is usually given once a day, 5 days a week for 5–6 weeks. More information about radiotherapy is also available.
Targeted therapies are treatments that work by targeting breast cancer cells with specific receptors on them. The pathology report shows whether there are specific receptors on the breast cancer cells that have been removed.
- Hormonal therapy, such as tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor, may be recommended if the cancer cells have hormone receptors on them. Hormonal therapies are taken as a tablet once a day for at least 5 years. More information on hormonal therapies is available.
- Patients who have another type of receptor, called the HER2 receptor, on their breast cancer cells may benefit from treatment with a drug called trastuzumab (Herceptin®). Overall, about one quarter of patients with breast cancer have HER2 receptors on their cancer cells.
